Cherokee - Naked Music (1992), I Love You...Me (1998) & Soul Parade (2002) TRIPLE POST!!!

I recently bought the album by Auto & Cherokee, having seen it in used CD stores for years, but I never picked it up for some reason. I have followed Cherokee for years, and she recently released the song "Goddess", so I think it's time that I did a post on her. Cherokee Pogue is from Brooklyn, New York. She started writing poetry when she was 10 and formed her first band when she was 13 years old.  At the age of 16, Cherokee met a local singer/songwriter named Auto (whom she later married) and they released an album, "Naked Music" in 1992 on Morgan Creek Records.  The album was far from a success, despite the video for "Taste" getting some rotation.  They also recorded a PSA called "We Can Play Together". Apparently Auto became very abusive towards Cherokee, and they split in 1995. Cherokee moved to Los Angeles, got a deal with RCA records in 1998, and released her debut solo album I Love You....Me. It was far less funky than her album with Auto, and veered into neo-soul, which was big at the time thanks to artists like Erykah Badu. The only single released from the album, "Ooh Wee Wee," peaked at #88 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 3 weeks. A promo single for "Steppin' Stone" was also released. She performed on shows such as "Soul Train" and "Motown Live."  She was also featured in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Jet, Vogue, Esquire, Billboard, and the The New York Times. She was also featured in a huge ad campaign for GAP. Despite all of this promotion, her album failed to chart. However, RCA allowed her to record a second album, Soul Parade, which was scheduled for release in 2001. Unfortunately, the division of RCA Records responsible for releasing the album ended up folding and the album was never released. Cherokee later released the album herself through her website. Two singles were released from the album, however: "Nectarine," featuring Andre 3000, and "I Swear." Neither of them charted. Cherokee married record producer Neal Pogue and had a daughter, whom she took the next six years off to raise.  In 2011, Cherokee (nee Shock Mama Cherry) joined Brazilian guitarist Fred Card to form reggae/soul duo Esprit De Corps, whom she continues to record and tour with. As mentioned, she recently released the amazing electro-funk song "Goddess" and promises that new music is coming.

Video for Taste

Download Naked Music

1 Introduction To Our World
2 Naked Music
3 Taste
4 Indian Summer
5 So Good To Be In Love
6 Best Of Friends
7 Interlude / Breed Of The Apple Children
8 She Eats Like A Lion
9 Hack Your Bed
10 Hook You Up
11 Forever Yours
12 Homeless
13 Taste (Street Single Mix)

Video for Ooh Wee Wee

Download I Love You...Me

1 While I'm Flying
2 Oopsy Daisy
3 Sexy Somethin'
4 Ooh Wee Wee (4 U Mix)
5 Steppin' Stone
6 Misty
7 Blue Bottle Afta Shave
8 My Own Queen
9 I Love You...Me
10 Fictitiously
11 Ooh Wee Wee (4 Me Mix)

Video for Nectarine

Video for I Swear

Download Soul Parade

1 Runaway
2 Lips
3 A Woman Knows (feat. Bilal)
4 I Swear
5 Nectarine (feat. Andre 3000)
6 Star (feat. Floetry)
7 Nothing Really Feels The Same
8 Crazy (feat. Rahsaan Patterson)
9 Daddy How?
10 Where
11 One
12 Can't Let Go

One To One (One 2 One) - Forward Your Emotions (1985), 1-2-1 (1988) & Imagine It (1992) TRIPLE POST!!!

There isn't much more that I can say about One To One than I already have in my posts about Sal's Birdland and Artificial Joy Club, the groups they became after their poppy phase as One To On. So go to those posts for more details.  I will add that the duo or Louise Reny and Leslie Howe came from Ottawa, Canada's capital, and were very involved in Alanis Morrisette's dance-pop phase before Jagged Little Pill. Alanis even does backing vocals on the song "Friends" from Imagine It.  Forward Your Emotions was very much new-wave and synth-pop, a popular sound in 1985.  Their first single, "There Was A Time", reached #14 in the Canadian Top 40. The next, "Angel in My Pocket", only reached #24 there, but it also hit the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #92. The third single, "Black On White", only managed to squeak into the end of the Canadian Top 100. Their next album, 1-2-1, was a lot less new wave and a lot more straight up pop.  The first single, "Hold Me Now", reached #25 on the Canadian charts, while the next three singles hit the Canadian Top 100 - "Love Child"(#43), "Do You Believe" (#34) & "We've Got the Power" (#90). In 1992, they changed their name slightly to One 2 One, which was likely to differentiate their new folky, pop rock sound. They had their biggest Canadian hit with the single "Peace of Mind (Love Goes On)", which reached  #11, which also hit #95 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following two singles, "Memory Lane" and "Friends", hit the Canadian Top 40 and reached #34 and #36, respectively.  After that, they formed Sal's Birdland, which eventually became Artificial Joy Club, and delved into much harder rock. I realized it was due time to post their albums, so enjoy!










Video for There Was A Time

Video for Angel In My Pocket

Download Forward Your Emotions

1 Don't Call It Love
2 Angel In My Pocket
3 Hearts And Diamonds
4 Where's The Answer
5 Forward Your Emotions
6 There Was A Time
7 Black On White
8 Love Is Blind
9 Boys Will Be Boys
10 Tell Me Straight

Video for Hold Me Now

Download 1-2-1

1 Hold Me Now
2 Love Child
3 We've Got The Power
4 Do You Believe
5 Heading For Zero
6 Inside These Eyes
7 Victorious
8 Voices Cry
9 Life Is So Easy
10 Not A Love Song

Video for Peace Of Mind (Love Goes On)

Download Imagine It

1 Peace Of Mind (Love Goes On)
2 Memory Lane
3 Keeping Faith
4 Friends
5 Big On Emotion
6 Tough To Tame
7 I'll Walk Away
8 Big Hush
9 Gypsy Girl
10 World Without Love

Countess Vaughn - Countess (1992)

I remember downloading Countess Vaughn's only album a couple of years ago, but I lost the files, so I decided to buy the CD.  Luckily one seller in China was selling it brand new at a cheap price, as all of the other offers were way too expensive.  I guess it's fairly rare?  Anyway, I became aware of Countess way back in 1988 where she became the junior vocalist champion and overall junior champion on Star Search at age nine.  I remember her specifically because she was very precocious and got on my nerves. lol This win got her a gig on the sitcom 227 that same year, where she stayed for two years.  She continued doing guest spots on television until she finally got a record deal with Charisma Records in 1992. Now thirteen, she was able to perform more mature music, the result being a mainly New Jack swing sound.  Her first single, obviously chosen to showcase her vocals, was the ballad "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World", which was a James Brown cover. It barely dented the R&B charts, and the album and follow-up single, "Wait For Me", were stillborn, which was disappointing because of her vocal talent.  It is likely they didn't know how to market her given her age.  Whatever the case, Countess went back to acting and landed her signature role in 1996 on the show Moesha, playing star Brandy's best friend.  She won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1998. This led to friction between Countess and Brandy, as Countess thought herself the reason for the show's success.  This feud lasted until 2015, when Countess finally apologized on Instagram. But there's no denying that her popularity led to the 1999 spin-off The Parkers, where Mo'Nique played her mother. The show was an instant success and lasted five years.  After this, however, her gigs were few and far between.  She finally appeared as a regular again in 2006 on the reality show Celebrity Fit Club, where she failed to lose weight.  She then appeared as a contestant on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar, but she had to leave the show due to illness. She wouldn't land a regular gig again until she was chosen to star in the reality series Hollywood Divas on TV One in 2014.  She also joined the BET series According To Him + Her, where she continues to do reenactments for the show.  She also appeared with her Hollywood Divas co-stars in the low budget film The White Sistas in 2017.  It is interesting that her music career took a back burner all of these years, since she won Star Search as a vocalist.  She did try to capitalize on her Hollywood Divas success by recording the song "Do You Love Him" aka "Wifey" in 2016, and the making of the video was a plot on the show.  She eventually fired co-star Paula Jai Parker as director and asked another co-star, Lisa Wu, to help her find a director.  The result was an instant disaster when it was released, and Twitter went crazy making fun of it.  The video was ridiculous and didn't feature Countess singing, and the song itself was horribly produced.  It was reedited to feature Countess lip-syncing, but the damage had already been done.  It will be interesting to see if she attempts to step back in to the music world.  If so, please get a new producer, Countess!

Video for Wait For Me

Download Countess

1 Wait For Me
2 Let's Call The Whole Thing Love
3 Summer Love
4 Unconditionally
5 Just Being With You
6 You Could Fall In Love With Me
7 Fallin'
8 Give Me The Love
9 Once More
10 It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World

Nemorin - Creole Dance (1992) and Mission Of Love (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

So, I was looking into the work of Toby Gad, the Danish super-producer and songwriter who has worked with the biggest pop stars in the world, including Madonna, Fergie, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, and Beyonce, and I came across an artist he worked with who I had never heard of before, Nemorin.  I checked out a couple of her videos and liked what I heard, so I ordered her two CDs.  Little did I know at the time that she was once Toby's girlfriend and that she had an extensive career of her own. Jacqueline Nemorin was born in Mauritius. She moved to London with her parents, and then to Germany on her own, where she married German producer and composer Frank Diez.  In Germany she also hooked up with disco composer and producer Veit Marvo and became part of his Red Point Orchestra in 1972.  She also did a lot of session singing.  She soon changed her name to Jackie Carter and briefly became part of disco trio Silver Convention.  Before they released their first album and biggest hit, "Fly, Robin, Fly", Jackie was replaced in the group and only sang lead on one album track, "Please Don't Change The Chords Of This Song".  However, she soon signed a solo deal with Atlantic Records and released her first album Treat Me Like A Woman in 1976.  She released the moderately successful singles "Treat Me Like A Woman" and "Just Like Lightning", but then lost her deal with Atlantic. In 1977, she performed in the German musical Tell!, and in 1978 she released disco remakes of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" and The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". In 1979, she released her second album, Ruby Shoes, which was produced by her husband.  She released the singles "Stay For The Night" and "Ohh, What A Way To Go" to little success. In 1980, she and her husband joined Eric Burdon's Fire Dept. for one album.  She did mainly backing vocal gigs after that and then released her last single as Jackie Carter, "Heat Of The Night" in 1985.  She also returned to Mauritius that year for her own TV special. Also that year, she joined the pop vocal quartet The Hornettes.  She stayed with the group until 1993, wanting to concentrate on her solo career.  During her time in the group, she released the solo single "A Ci Lelao", which took influence from her Mauritian background and took on a world pop sound. In 1990, she met Toby Gad, who at the time was best known for his work with producer Frank Farian with Milli Vanilli.  She had divorced her husband in 1987. When Jackie left the group, she and Toby started writing together, which led to her first album as Nemorin, Creole Dance.  It included "A Ci Lelao" and took it's overall sound from that.  Toby took the reigns as producer, and they both wrote the songs.  "It Feels Good To Be Loved" was the only other single released.  Working on the album began a long romantic and professional partnership between the two, and Jackie started to write and produce as well.   In 1994 she had two songs on the soundtrack for The Neverending Story III, "Mission Of Love" and "Dream On (The Neverending Story)".  "Mission Of Love", which was in the eurohouse vein, was released as a single and saw some success in clubs.  An album followed the next year, with Toby again producing and the sound again incorporating world music. "Boat On The River" was released as the only other single. Jackie and Toby also formed the group Love You that year, and released three singles. including "Countdown For The Summer". The two then moved to New York and started working together for other artists, writing and producing pop songs for artists like Enrique Iglesias, Taylor Dayne, PYT, Sita and K-Otic.   They also released a song, "Free As A Bird", as Qute in 1999. After they separated in 2000, Jackie moved back to Germany and sang with the band Rubbersoul, and later moved to London, where she continues to write, produce and record. A pretty full career, I'd say, especially for someone I'd never heard of before!

Video for Accillelao

Live performance of It Feels Good To Be Loved

Download Creole Dance

1 Accillelao
2 Creole Dance
3 Aloha Mahe
4 Bajo
5 Tale About Freedom
6 It Feels Good To Be Loved
7 Around The World
8 Blood Of The Kings
9 Merry Go Round
10 Wheels On Fire


Video for Mission Of Love

Live Performance of Aloha Wahine

Download Mission Of Love

1 Mission Of Love
2 Aloha Wahine
3 Boat On The River
4 Angelina
5 Fire Of Love
6 Why?
7 Shine On
8 Le Le Kasbah
9 What If?
10 For The Children
11 Dream On - The Neverending Story III
12 Mission Of Love (Classic Version)

Abstrac' - Abstrac' (1989) and M&M - Get Ta Know Ya Betta (1992) DOUBLE POST!!

Recently I downloaded the 12" single mixes of the song "Right And Hype" by R&B trio Abstrac'.  I had not heard the song in a very long time and was surprised by how good it was.  I was curious to hear the album again, so I searched furiously through my collection and finally located the CD.  One listen convinced me that I had to share it on the Isle.  The trio consisted of Alvina "Topaz" Del Bettis, Mary Brown and Marsha McClurkin, and was formed by Gene Griffin and Teddy Riley. In the late 80's, Griffin and Riley started perfecting what would become known as the New Jack Swing sound, which took the popular-at-the-time pop-funk R&B sound of producers like L.A. Reid & Babyface and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and gave it a more street sound, mainly by adding hip hop flourishes.  Encouraged by their extremely successful collaboration with Johnny Kemp, "Just Got Paid", they started working, both separately and together, with different acts.  The first all-female act that they worked with together was Abstrac'.  (Riley had had experience producing another female trio the previous year on the track "Wishing You Were Here" by The Gyrlz.) The three ladies of Abstrac' were unknowns, yet they managed to get an album deal with Reprise Records.  The self-titled album was mainly written and produced by Griffin along with Riley's brother Markell, with three tracks written and produced by another New Jack pioneer, Bernard Belle.  Riley focused on the keyboards, mixing and arranging.  The first single was "Right And Hype", and it managed to dent the Billboard Hot 100 at #89. A promo was released for the second single, "You Are The Party (I Am The Fun)," but it failed to make an impact and the group was dropped.  However, three years later, Marsha and Mary reemerged as the duo M&M and released the album Get Ta Know Ya Betta on Atlantic Records.  By now the New Jack sound was in full swing (pun intended) and while Abstrac' had still held on to the dance-funk sound, M&M was full on New Jack R&B. The ladies also had a lot more involvement in the writing of the album's material, along with its main producer, Herb Middleton. Unfortunately for the ladies, their new incarnation was even less successful and their two singles, "Talk To Me" (which was remixed by Markell Riley) and the album's title track, floundered on the charts and they were again dropped from a major label. (As a side note, two of the ladies from the aforementioned trio The Gyrlz also later formed a New Jack duo a year later, Terri & Monica, and they were moderately more successful. Perhaps they will be featured in the Isle at some point in the future...) The writing experience on the M&M album ended up being a godsend for Mary Brown, however, as she later found great success as a songwriter, most notably with Destiny's Child's "No No No". Fortunately I have been meaning to feature the M&M album for a couple years now and had it on hand, so when I unearthed the Abstrac' album I thought it was finally time to share it with you all as well, and therefore I've presented them together. Enjoy!

Video for Right And Hype

Download Abstrac'

1 Lookin' Out For #1
2 I'll Be Your Friend
3 Sleaze
4 Right And Hype
5 Make Me Sweat
6 Strategy
7 Trust Me
8 Buggin' Over You
9 You're My Kind Of Guy
10 You Are The Party (I Am The Fun)

Download Get Ta Know Ya Betta

1 Feel No Shame
2 We're Falling Apart
3 Talk To Me
4 Never Let Go
5 My Way
6 Get Ta Know Ya Betta
7 Losin' Control
8 If I Give My Love To You
9 Go On
10 You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

Smart E's - Sesame's Treet (1992)

Surprise!!  Finally, a new post after forever.  Luckily I have a spare moment, and thought you all deserved a little Valentine's Day "treet".  While most of you likely remember the theme to the children's show Sesame Street, how many of you remember the rave remix by Smart E's? In 1992 their song "Sesame's Treet" hit #2 on the UK charts and managed to hit #60 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying in the charts for 16 weeks. The group was formed by DJs Christopher Howell (aka Luna-C) and Tom Orton (aka Mr. Tom) and producer Nick Arnold.  The three were heavily into breakbeat hardcore music, the music of choice at raves, which were huge at the time.  The boys decided to take samples from the film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and put them over a breakbeat track, releasing "Bogus Adventure," backed with "Fuck The Law", which took samples from the film Nightbreed.  "Bogus Adventure" caught the attention of local DJs and this encouraged the trio to record another sampled novelty track, this time using the theme from Sesame Street.  This was one of the first "happy hardcore" tunes, which focused on upbeat and childlike themes and samples, which appealed to the drug fueled rave crowds.  The song quickly caught fire and ended up debuting at #2 on the British charts, which was a first at that time.  The boys were snatched up by Big Beat Records and quickly put together an album.  Most of the album maintained a similar vibe to their previous tracks, using fast techno beats and many samples.  They also enlisted vocalist Jayde to add diva vocals on some tracks, including the next single "Loo's Control". The album failed to capitalize on "Sesame's Treet"'s success, however, and it was largely panned by critics as garbage.  It also led to many copycat acts who used samples from various child-centric sources, and the influx of similar tracks is said to have hurt the rave scene as a whole.  They did release one other song from the album, "Love Is Blind," though this was released under the moniker Echora, likely to distance themselves from the Smart E's name.  Also, the track was quite different from the rest of the album, as it was a straight-forward house number featuring the soulful vocals of Jayde.  It was also given many R&B remixes to appeal to the urban market.  It didn't do well on the charts, however.  The group split after this and all went their separate ways, though they all continued to release their own spin on dance music.  Howell probably had the most success, both with his solo music as well as numerous releases under different aliases, and also ran his own record labels.  Arnold released music under several aliases as well, the most successful likely being the happy hardcore group Bang!, who released two albums.  Initially Orton assisted with Bang! and then also went on to release tracks under different aliases and as part of various groups.  But they will all likely best be remembered for "Sesame's Treet," for better or for worse.

Video for Sesame's Treet

Video for Loo's Control

Download Sesame's Treet

1 Apollo (Lunar Mix)
2 Magnificent
3 Make It Happen
4 Sesame's Treet
5 Love Is Blind
6 The Law
7 Charlie
8 Loo's Control
9 A Most Excellent Choon
10 Intruder Alert
11 Bizzarely Odd
12 Time Out
13 Beautiful Noises

Alison Limerick - And Still I Rise (1992), With A Twist (1994) & Spirit Rising (1998) TRIPLE POST!!!

As it's been awhile since my last post, I'm hitting you with yet another triple post!  This time I'm featuring house diva Alison Limerick.  Alison was born in London and at first set out to be a dancer, even attending the London Contemporary School of Dance.  But her strong, soulful voice couldn't be denied and soon she was an in demand backing singer.  Her first major gig was backing vocals on Style Council's "Shout To The Top" in 1984.  Through the rest of the 80s and early 90s she made vocal appearances on songs by an eclectic array of alternative artists such as Peter Murphy, The Icicle Works, Ultravox and This Mortal Coil, on whose albums she took lead on several tracks like "Nature's Way" and "Drugs".  During this time she also began working with producer and songwriter Lati Kronlund.  Kronlund had written a house song that he thought Alison's voice would be perfect for, and "Where Love Lives" was born.  Released in 1990 on Arista, the song became a huge club hit, thanks in large part to the remix by Frankie Knuckles and David Morales.  In 1991, it reached #3 on the Billboard dance chart and #27 on the UK singles chart.  This led to an album deal with Arista, but the second single, "Come Back (For Real Love)", was less successful, only reaching #53 on the UK pop chart. She did almost make the top 40 again that year with a collaboration with Malcolm McLaren, "Magic's Back". And the next single from her album, "Make It On My Own", was another chart hit, reaching #6 on the Billboard dance chart and #16 on the UK chart.  But the album was not released in the US, and the follow-up singles "Hear My Call" and "Gettin' It Right" were only minor chart hits in the UK. Undaunted, Alison began to work on new music.  While her next single, "Time Of Our Lives", failed to chart, her remake of Evelyn "Champagne" King's "Love Come Down" managed to hit the UK top 40 at #36, and her second album was released in 1994, with Frankie Knuckles behind the production of most of it.  It wasn't successful enough for the label to keep her, alas. She kept busy over the following few years by contributing vocals and lyrics to acid jazz group Vibraphonic, and had another minor UK hit with the James Taylor Quartet, "Love Will Keep Us Together". Then, in 1996, "Where Love Lives" was re-released with new mixes, and became an even bigger hit, reaching #4 on the Billboard dance chart and #9 on the UK pop chart.  Then "Make It On My Own" was re-released and reached #30 on the UK chart.  This led to another album with an indie label in 1998, and the preceding single. "Put Your Faith In Me", just missed the top 40 in the UK.  None of the follow up singles - "Never Knew", "Let's Hold On (To Love)" and "Spirit Rising", managed to chart, however.  And though she has not released a proper album since, Alison has kept very busy with music, collaborating on singles with, among others, X-Press 2, And If, Ringleader and Ikon, as well as extensive touring.  And in 2003, "Where Love Lives" appeared on the charts yet again thanks to new remixes, reaching #16 on the Billboard dance charts and #44 on the UK pop chart, proving you can't keep a good song down.  Expect it to 'live' again on the charts in the near future.  You can keep up with Alison via her Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Video for Where Love Lives

Video for Make It On My Own

Video for Gettin' It Right

Video for Come Back (For Real Love)

Download And Still I Rise

1	Make It On My Own
2	Gettin' It Right
3	Where Love Lives (Come On In)
4	Hear My Call
5	Trouble
6	Come Back (For Real Love)
7	Tell Me What You Mean
8	Let's Make A Memory
9	You And I
10	The Difference Is You

Video for Time Of Our Lives

Video for Love Come Down

Download With A Twist

1	Time Of Our Lives
2	Love Come Down
3	Twisted
4	No Way Out
5	Crime To Be That Cool
6	So Long
7	Sentimental
8	Buck The System
9	Take It Back
10	Let's Just Pretend
11	Build Your Love
12	Unique
13	Come Home

Video for Put Your Faith In Me

Video for Let's Hold On (To Love)

Download Spirit Rising

1	Spirit Rising
2	Never Knew
3	Let's Hold On (To Love)
4	Put Your Faith In Me
5	How Happy
6	Stronger Love
7	So Far So Good
8	Dangerous Game
9	Take It Easy
10	It's Getting Better (This Could Be Good)
	Bonus Tracks
11	Never Knew (Joe T. Vanelli Classic Mix)
12	Put Your Faith In Me (Peppermint Jam Faith Club Mix)
13	Let's Hold On To Love (Metro Mix)
14	Where Love Lives (Ruff Driverz Full Vocal Mix)

Jacci McGhee ‎– Jacci McGhee (1992)

Jacci McGhee's brief time in the spotlight came as a result of being Keith Sweat's singing partner on his R&B hit "Make It Last Forever" in 1988.  Born in the Bronx, Jacci mostly did back-up vocals until Keith decided to feature her voice front and centre.  Despite the feature, Jacci went back to the background, mainly as vocal support for rock group Toto.  She did get another coup on the charts in 1989, singing the chorus to Salt-N-Pepa's second top 40 hit, "Expression".  It would be three more years before she would get a solo deal, when MCA signed her.  Her first single, the upbeat "Skeeza", was produced by Salt-N-Pepa's producer Herby Luv Bug and was a minor R&B hit.  It's follow-up, the ballad "It Hurts Me", was produced by Keith Sweat - as were a couple other songs on the album - and it climbed a little higher.  The final single was another upbeat number, "Something's On My Mind", but it didn't chart and she was dropped.  She was pregnant at the time and spent the next few years raising her child.  Then, in 1998, she joined funk/soul group The Family Stand, replacing their female vocalist Sandra St. Victor.  I personally loved that group and was happy to hear that she had joined.  They released only one album with Jacci, however, and after their single "You Don't Have To Worry" failed to generate interest, she split from the group. According to member Peter Lord, Jacci and he never saw eye to eye, as she was hoping to go in a more rock direction, likely stoked by her time with Toto.  Jacci again disappeared from the limelight, but about a year ago she left hints around the internet that she was working with a new act called "Billy Scott the band".  Not sure what, if anything, that band is up to, as nothing has emerged since, but it is good to know that Jacci is still at it.  Her one album displays a voice that definitely has a rock swagger and needs to be heard, and it shows her diversity over dance, soul and new jack swing tastiness. She was definitely head and shoulders above her contemporaries and deserved better.

Video for Skeeza

Video for It Hurts Me

Download Jacci McGhee

1	Something's On My Mind
2	It Hurts Me
3	Skeeza
4	Good Old Fashioned Love
5	The Closer I Get To You
6	What R U Gonna Do?
7	Been A Long Time
8	The Other Woman
9	Denied
10	That's How Much I Love You

Kathy Sledge - Heart (1992)

It always astounds me how many lead singers of successful groups who attempt to break out with solo careers rarely achieve success and end up releasing just one solo album.  For every success like Beyonce there are dozens of non-starters. One of those is Kathy Sledge, lead singer of sibling girl group Sister Sledge from Philadelphia.  The girls started recording in 1971 and had their first hit in the UK in 1973 with "Mama Never Told Me".  While they had a few minor R&B hits over the next few years, it was the release of disco classic "We Are Family" that shot them to stardom and a successful chart run in the US and UK until 1985, when they released their last major label album. In 1992, when her sisters decided to regroup for an album of remakes of their hits, And Now...Sledge...Again (from which they had three Top 20 hits in the UK), Kathy finally decided to pursue a solo career and was signed to Epic Records.  She used an array of popular producers to keep her sound current, resulting in an album of funky dance pop and R&B ballads. Her first single, "Take Me Back To Love Again", wasn't a huge pop or R&B hit, but the dance remixes helped it reach #1 on the Billboard dance charts.  The album's title track was the follow-up single, but it failed to make a similar impression, only reaching #16 on the dance charts, and after her final single "All Of My Love" failed to chart, she was dropped from Epic.  She would appear on the dance charts again, however, when her remake of Stevie Wonder's "Another Star" ignited dance floors in 1995.  She released two other singles on the Narcotic label that year, "Another Day" and  "Good Times".  In 1997 she reappeared on the dance charts as the featured vocalist on Robert Miles' "Freedom" and then again in 2001 as the featured vocalist on Sylk 130's "Rising".  But realizing that her greatest success was with her sisters, she has continued to tour the world off and on with Sister Sledge, appealing to their old-school fans and making new ones with remixes of their classics.  And she again appeared on the Billboard dance charts just last year with a song with Adam Barta called "Give Yourself Up", and managed to look younger and more attractive than ever at 52 in the video!  Here's hoping there are more dance hits to come. (Correction - thanks to Robert I now know that that isn't Kathy in most of the "Give Yourself Up" video but her look-alike daughter lip syncing.  Kathy is only in a few shots.  But she still looks great!)

Video for Take Me Back To Love Again

Download Heart

1		Heart
2		Take Me Back To Love Again
3		Every Little Way
4		Reason For This
5		You Win Some, You Lose Some (Gabby's Song)
6		I Think Of You
7		Baby, Baby, Baby
8		Pleasure
9		Careful
10		All Of My Love
11		Since I Found You
12		Take Me Back To Love Again (Radio Remix)

Voices - Just The Beginning... (1992)

I am finally satisfying a years long request with the one and only album by Voices, an R&B pre-teen girl group that is best known for originally featuring television star twins Tia & Tamera Mowry. The group was formed in Los Angeles and though there were many other new jack swing girl groups at the time, they had a unique angle in that they were not yet in their teens. This had them being compared to male counterparts like the Jackson 5, New Edition and The Boys. Originally the group consisted of Monique Wilson, Arike Rice, and twins Tia & Tamera Mowry. They were signed to Zoo Entertainment and recorded the song "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!", as well as a video. Soon after, the twins' mother had a disagreement with their management and pulled them out of the group. They were replaced with sisters LaToya and LaPetra McMoore. The song became a modest hit, reaching #14 on the Billboard R&B chart and #72 on the Hot 100. They released an album and a second single, "M.M.D.R.N.F. (My Mama Didn't Raise No Fool)", and opened on tour for a multitude of popular R&B acts. Their second single stalled in the lower end of the R&B charts, however, and their third, "Cloudy With A Chance Of Tears" did even worse. With no major hits and label issues, the group broke up. A couple of years later the Mowry sisters appeared in their own sitcom, Sister, Sister, to great success. After the show ended in 1999, they both went to university and then returned to acting in various film and television shows, most recently their own reality show in 2011 on the Style Network. Arike Rice would reappear on the scene with her sister and cousin in 1999 as part of the R&B trio Before Dark. They would release one album, Daydreamin', and have a few minor R&B hits including one Hot 100 song, "Monica", which reached #77. Arike continues to record and has been a back-up dancer for the likes of Janet Jackson, Kanye West, Missy Elliott and Black Eyed Peas. Not much has been heard from Monique Wilson and her goings on, but she does have a Myspace page. LaToya McMoore, aka Josie G, ended up marrying Marc Gordon of R&B group Levert and has continued to pursue a solo career, and also has her own Myspace page. Her sister LaPetra, however, took a much different path by enlisting in the Army reserve as part of the Hawaiian National Guard, and served in Iraq. It always amazes me what some of these artists get up to in later years, especially when it's something noble and beneficial to society. (BTW, one must note the irony of the album title, since this was not 'just the beginning' but also the end... ;)

UPDATE:  Just got a message on Facebook from Monique Wilson with some updates!  Check it out, and thanks Momo!!

"Aloha, I'm Momo of the lost Voices tribe, I am on a island but I'm not lost...I've been playing music the whole time after Voices.  Check me out: momoandthesituation.com.  My video on YouTube: Momo - Steppin Wit My Hot Team. I am so grateful people still love our music, we worked really hard and had some trippy glitches happen to prohibit our success. If you want to know the low down on the show down I'm at momofryar1234@gmail.com. I am currently releasing my solo album Momo - So What's Your Situation.  Mahalo, Peace and love, Momo"

Video for Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

Download Just The Beginning...

1		Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!
2		Wait For The Beeeep (Interlude)
3		Library Card
4		M.M.D.R.N.F. (My Mama Didn't Raise No Fool)
5		Cloudy With A Chance Of Tears
6		Always
7		We Are Voices
8		I'll Wipe All Your Tears Away
9		The Love You Save
10		Studio Chatter (Interlude)
11		Love Lives Right Next Door
12		Blessed (The Praise Song)
13		Just The Beginning...

FMT Featuring Camilla - So Into You (1992)

Thanks to the extreme generousity of Isle fan Robert G., I can offer you another album off of my want list. This is another gem I had only on cassette and had trouble locating the CD for, but Robert just bought and ripped it for me and I had to share with you immediately. Thanks a million, Robert! FMT was essentially Frank Meyer-Thurn, a German songwriter, musician and producer, and his wife, singer and songwriter Camilla Hüther. After working in the band McScrooge in the late 1970s, Meyer-Thurn met Camilla in Mannheim and they formed the new wave group Camilla Motor (originally known as Camilla Motor & Die Sexzylinder). They released two German albums, Camilla Motor in 1981 and Ein Neues Glück in 1982. They married in 1984, and carried on working together throughout the 1980s, writing, producing and performing with and as part of European dance acts such as Rewind, Crack Express, Amati and Private Blue. These were all single releases on smaller labels but they soon got a deal with a major label, EMI Electrola. As FMT, they mellowed out their sound, which had been primarily HiNRG and italo-disco, and explored house, hip hop, 70s psychedelic rock and soul. The closest comparison to their sound would be DNA's hit remix of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner", which was clearly an influence. In fact, their first single was a remake of Leonard Cohen's moody "Suzanne", an obvious tribute to the singer. The single was successful in Europe and was followed by a remake of Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". The success of both singles caught the eye of Capitol Records in North America, and an album was issued. The lead-off single was a remake of Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You". While also a hit in Europe, it failed to generate interest in North America. The FMT project was dropped, with none of their original tracks having been released, including a tribute to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. But the two carried on, producing, writing, remixing and performing throughout the 1990's and 2000's under different aliases - Camilla as Jean Bronte, and Frank as FMT Posse, John Ritt, and Zed Lovedust, among others. Unfortunately Frank died in January 2009, and Camilla (who is not the woman pictured on the cover, BTW) is missing in action...

Download So Into You

1		50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
2		Jimi & Janis (A Tribute!)
3		Oasis
4		I Want U, Baby
5		No Better Lover
6		Suzanne
7		So Into You
8		Crank It Up
9		U Can Touch Me Anywhere
10		I Want U, Baby (Humpty Dumpty Remix)